The broadband industry was dealt a significant blow by a U.S. District Court judge this week in its efforts to derail a privacy law in Maine.

The law, the Act to Protect the Privacy of Online Consumer Information, was signed last year. It bars ISPs in Maine from “using, disclosing, selling or permitting access to customer personal information” unless a customer consents.

On Tuesday, Judge Lance Walker poured cold water on the ISP’s argument. Walker, in a ruling on pretrial motions, wrote that the groups did not show that the law violated their First Amendment rights and rejected their claims that the Maine law should be preempted by federal law and decisions. The judge called the First Amendment claims a “shoot-the-moon argument.”

Gigi Sohn, a former FCC counselor and technology and policy distinguished fellow at Georgetown Law Institute, said the fate of the lawsuit will have implications for privacy laws moving forward.

“If the broadband providers prevail at trial and beyond, the future of national and state privacy laws will be at risk, as will nearly any attempt to protect consumers and competition in the broadband market,” Sohn said in a statement. “Judge Walker’s decision is a good first step towards deflating the providers’ ‘shoot-the-moon’ attempt to use the First Amendment as a deregulatory tool.” 

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